On the Jets’ winning touchdown today, quarterback Mark Sanchez was confronted with a gauntlet representing nearly all the situations that caused him to struggle this season.

He was pressured from the blind side and flushed out of the pocket, where he would often take a big hit.

Then the Buffalo Bills’ coverage eliminated almost all of his primary reads, presenting a look where he has been prone to throw errant passes into heavy traffic.

But this time, things were different. Sanchez cleared the tackle box and caught the attention of Santonio Holmes, who was breaking off his route.

Sanchez motioned the receiver to the right, pump-faked, and fired a pass that landed in Holmes’ arms just a step inside the end zone.

“I felt good,” Sanchez said about heading into the last drive, which secured a 28-24 triumph over Buffalo. “We’ve been in that situation before, we rep it all the time in practice. The game is on the line, we have to win and we made plays to do it.”

Just a few days after Jets coach Rex Ryan publicly needled him, allowing 41-year-old backup Mark Brunell to take some of Sanchez’s first-string snaps in practice, the young quarterback responded with a career-high four touchdown passes. For once, the lone interception seemed less costly.

The win over Buffalo was defined by something Sanchez was able to do, not something he couldn’t.

“That’s who he is,” Ryan said. “He’s a stud. Sanchise. The first half wasn’t the best half, but we know if we just hung in there — we have complete faith in Mark. He’s done it before.”

“Yeah, he doesn’t lose confidence,” added tight end Dustin Keller, who hauled in two of the four touchdown passes.

There were times when it looked to be another performance that would place the third-year quarterback into the cross hairs.

Fans jeered after a third-down play in the second quarter ended with Sanchez throwing incomplete to Holmes, who was not looking and appeared to be running a completely different route.

He would say later that Holmes adjusted his route when it wasn’t expected.

“Of course you hear them,” Sanchez said of the loud boos. “You hear a lot of stuff.”

At halftime, offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer reminded Sanchez to keep his head and sharpen himself, especially on third-down plays. He responded by going 9-of-15 in the second half for 114 yards and two touchdowns.

As for sitting behind Brunell for a few plays in practice, Sanchez wouldn’t say whether it worked. He took solace in the fact that it wasn’t an issue anymore.

“This is a lot bigger than that,” Sanchez said. “That’s a motivational tool that Rex used, and we take it all in stride. But this game and this season are a lot bigger than that.”